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Saturday, April 04, 2015

The last of my out-dated footage, from last summer. More of my videos here.

I love spring cleaning. There is nothing more hopeful than clearing the decks, sweeping out the clutter, knocking items off the "To Do" list. Jim and I have a weekly practice now. We made a list of all the things we've been intending to take care of——repairs around the house, financial reckonings, projects of all stripes. Every Monday evening we sit together and look at the list. We add and subtract, then pick a few of the most pressing items to tackle in the coming week, addressing the hows and whens and who-does-whats.

This weekend we'll deep-clean one room in the house together. We'll order wood for next winter. We'll wash and trim our dog's overgrown fur.

I'm becoming increasingly judicious about new projects.

For instance, I'm resisting the urge to replace the oft-used staple foods in our pantry, opting instead to make creative use of all those items I continually push to the back of the shelf.

Ultimately, the goal is to get to a point where there is no backlog, where there's room to take on new, bigger, more interesting and important challenges, without the energy-drain of worry over all the fraying loose-ends in the background.

I'm also thinking a lot about the world outside my little bubble——like climate change and how we privileged few humans are running roughshod over the earth, its creatures, and more vulnerable people, all the exploitation of land and people that support our "American way of life." I want to be done feeling bad about myself because I feel so powerless to affect change. And so, as I work, I am also educating myself, thinking about how to engage politically, something I've avoided until now.

Life is an adventure. And it's short. Will you join me in getting your chores done so that we can take on the bigger challenges together?